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Blackstone has sold its entire 23.5 per cent stake in Embassy Office Parks REIT for ₹7,100 crore ($850 million) at ₹316 per unit, trade data showed.
The acquirers included existing investors Capital Group, Fidelity, Bain Capital, ICICI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund and new investor SBI Mutual Fund. The top three buyers were Bain Capital, ICICI Prudential MF and Capital Group, who acquired stakes in the range of 7-9 per cent
The trade price was slightly higher than the floor price of ₹310 but it was at a discount to the prevailing market price. The units ended 1 per cent lower at ₹332.25.
“As a sponsor of Embassy Office Parks REIT, we welcome the expansion of the REIT’s public float register to include more high-quality investors,” said Jitu Virwani, Chairman and Managing Director, Embassy Group. “We believe that this transaction underscores the success of REITs in India and demonstrates how the world’s leading investors view the criticality of well-run and high-quality REITs such as Embassy REIT in their portfolios.”
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The REIT’s public shareholding has increased from 30 per cent at the time of its IPO to 92 per cent now. “We paved the way for REITs in India and the increased investor participation is heartening,” said Aravind Maiya, CEO of Embassy REIT. The REIT manages a portfolio of over 45 million square feet (msf) and 240 corporate occupiers. The REIT’s investor base includes domestic mutual funds, insurers and foreign institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, among others.
With this transaction, Blackstone has fully exited its investment in Embassy REIT that was listed on the bourses in 2019 as the first REIT in the country. Blackstone started off with 55 per cent stake in Embassy REIT at the IPO stage. In June 2020, it diluted 8 per cent stake for $355 million and in December 2020 it sold Embassy Tech Village, diluting Blackstone stake to 38 per cent.
In September 2021, Blackstone sold a block of 6 per cent for $275 million and block of 8 per cent for $326 million in the following year.
Also read: Making the REIT market more attractive
In 2022, it exited Mindspace Business Parks REIT, where it was one of the sponsors. It continues to be one of the largest commercial office landlords in India with 70 msf of space. It also owns 40 msf of warehousing and 12 msf of retail space.
Blackstone has also ventured into datacentres. It is currently building two datacentres in Navi Mumbai.
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